But Roberts, 49, is giving the plaza good odds. The city man signed a five-year lease, renovated the 2,500- square-foot space and hired six employees.

``I've stuck my neck way out,'' he said.

He's betting that the new police station building, slated to be finished next year, and a planned movie theater nearby will draw foot traffic to the area and revive the ailing Riverview Center.

``He made a good bet,'' said Lawrence McHugh, president of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce.

``In the short run because of the construction, there will be some difficulties,'' McHugh said. ``But in the long-run that area's going to be terrific.''

Roberts said he is prepared for a few slow years.

But on a tour of the store, it's apparent that he's already having a good time.

The ear, nose and throat specialist is bewitched by the bunnies, captivated by the cockatiels and charmed by the tiny Chinchilla.

And then there are the accessories: A battery-powered mouse to taunt the cat, a pancho for the iguana or a car seat for the parrot.

``We're trying to hit everything,'' he said.

Everything indeed.

On the more macabre side, the store carries urns and memorial plaques for pets. ``They're not the tacky kind,'' Roberts said reassuringly.

The Pet Shop, as it's called, doesn't have any dogs or cats yet and Roberts said he's not much interested in selling puppies that have been raised in puppy mills.

For now, the shop boasts an interactive CD-Rom program designed to help potential dog owners locate local breeders.

Elsewhere in Riverview Center, a clothing store called Vibes moved in last fall, and All That And Beepers, formerly located in the Clocktower shop, opened up shop last month.

Roberts said those developments bode well for his establishment, and signal that Riverview Center is on the rebound.

McHugh said construction plans call for 7,500 square feet of retail space in the front of the police station building, now under construction where Sears once stood.

And around the corner in Metro Square, representatives of a Massachusetts-based theater company said early last month that they had inked a 40-year lease to convert the vacant supermarket in Metro Square into a 10-screen first-run movie theater.

McHugh said that with those developments, the plaza could soon be abuzz with retail activity.

Downtown manager Barbara Goodrich said real estate on Main Street is picking up, and that'll mean business for Roberts.

``He's banking on tapping into that increased downtown foot traffic and I think that's a good bet,'' Goodrich said.